Can You Keep a Secret?
by forensicsfan
Summary: COMPLETE What's going on with Nick and Sara? The rest of the team thinks they're acting strange. Will they find out the reason why? Is there another secret waiting to be revealed?
1. Default Chapter

Sara heard the door to the women's restroom creak open. Silently, she hoped whoever it was would take care of business quickly and move on. 'Dammit' she thought as she could hear Catherine talking on her cell phone to Lindsey. Why couldn't she just go outside, or into one of the labs, or hell the broom closet would have even worked for a little privacy. She should know.  
  
Sara had to bite her lip to not make a sound as a pair of hands grazed her hips. She leaned her forehead into Nick's well muscled chest and silently begged him to stop. Catherine just kept talking. Sara stood there in the oversized stall at the far side of the bathroom trying to keep her erratic breathing silent. Her blouse was completely unbuttoned and her pants were unzipped and barely clinging to her hips. Catherine finally ended her call. Nick's hands continued their search for bare flesh and Sara couldn't help but gasp for a moment as Nick fingers slipped under the back of her panties. She bit her lip and clung to Nick as his hands cupped her buttocks.  
  
Sara heard Catherine's voice, "Who's in here?"  
  
Sara knew she'd better answer. In a voice that was more of a croak she replied, "It's me, Catherine."  
  
Concern was etched in Catherine's voice, "Are you ok, Sara? You sound kind of funny."  
  
Sara didn't dare look up at Nick, who was surely grinning, "I don't feel very good, I just have cramps. I'll be fine. I may be a while though."  
  
"Ok. Let me know if you need anything." Catherine offered, sounding motherly.  
  
"I will. Thanks." Sara replied, hoping that Catherine would just leave.  
  
Fortunately, Catherine left the restroom. She had only gone in there for a little privacy for her phone call.  
  
Nick let out a chuckle and whispered in her ear, "You feel good to me, Sara."  
  
Sara finally looked up at him, "That was close and you know it." She was right, he was grinning. She couldn't help but smile back at him.  
  
"Yeah, but it was fun." Nick leaned down and kissed her neck. His hands gripped her butt more tightly as he picked her up and pushed her against the wall of the bathroom.  
  
"Do you know what you do to me?" Sara breathed in a husky whisper, wrapping her legs around him.  
  
"Do you know what you do to me?" Nick whispered in reply, his lips making an assault on her neck.  
  
Sara murmured as she pressed herself against him, "I have an idea." His arousal was evident.  
  
Nick let out a groan. He pushed her harder into the wall and captured her lips with his. Their tongues made a frenzied assault on each other. Finally, the need for air drove them apart.  
  
Panting, Sara, breathed in Nick's ear, "We need to get back to work before Catherine comes in to check on me." Her legs loosened their hold on him.  
  
Reluctantly, they stepped away from each other. Sara button up her blouse and pulled her pants back up to their proper level before zipping them up. Nick pulled his shirt back on over his head. It had ended up on the toilet paper dispenser in their frenzy earlier. Sara reached up and helped smooth his hair out. He grinned as he reached over and combed his fingers through hers. Sara grinned as she noticed lipstick on the edge of his mouth. She reached up and rubbed it off. Nick kissed her hand as she did. She grabbed his hand and exited the stall. As they made their way to the door, Sara motioned for Nick to stay put until she could make sure the coast was clear. Silently, they both exited the restroom and walked off in different directions. 


	2. Assignments

Sara was sipping coffee in the break room when Catherine walked in. Catherine raised an eyebrow in concern, "How are you feeling, Sara?" "Oh, I'll be fine. You know how cramps are." Sara replied, taking another sip of coffee and trying to act natural, but feeling anything but since Catherine had been so close to discovering her and Nick's secret just a few minutes before.  
  
Catherine pulled a small bottle out of her purse and handed it to Sara, "Well, these work like a wonder when I have cramps. Why don't you just hold onto them? I have another bottle at home."  
  
Sara picked up the PMS formula and tucked it in her pocket, "Thanks, Cath."  
  
"Are they guys here yet?" Catherine inquired pouring herself a cup of coffee.  
  
Sara put her cup down on the counter, "I'm assuming Greg is here because the coffee actually tastes good. I don't know about the others."  
  
"Well Grissom's probably here, since he practically lives here." Catherine said with a wry smile.  
  
Grissom walked into the break room, "Hello, Catherine. Hello, Sara. Is the rest of the team here yet?"  
  
Catherine shook her head, "I don't think so, unless Nick and Warrick are in the locker room."  
  
Grissom had just finished pouring himself a cup of coffee when Nick and Warrick walked in intently discussing the merits of the latest PlayStation game.  
  
Grissom raised an eyebrow at the pair, "If you two are done talking about video games, I'd like to give out assignments."  
  
Warrick just nodded and sat down at the table in the center of the room. Nick gave Grissom a sheepish grin and poured himself a cup of coffee, standing between Sara and Catherine as he leaned against the counter.  
  
Grissom began handing out assignments. Sara didn't hear a word he said. Standing that close to Nick and not touching him was sheer torture for Sara. Nick tried to act natural. Sara looked over at him and shot him a glare. He was acting too natural. He shot her an innocent look. A smile played at the edge of his lips as he took a sip of his coffee.  
  
Grissom was talking, Sara thought she should try and concentrate on what he was saying. Grissom looked at her with an expectant look. Sara was at a loss for what he said, "What did you say, Gris?"  
  
Nick turned to her, "You should get your ears checked, Sidle. You, me, and Warrick have a db in an ally near the Strip. Possible gang connection."  
  
Sara looked over at Nick who wore a smug look on his face, "Uh, thanks, Nick."  
  
As the team made their way out of the break room, Grissom stopped Sara, "You ok, Sara? Catherine said you weren't feeling good earlier."  
  
Sara shot Catherine a look, "Uh, I'm fine, Grissom. It's a girl thing."  
  
Grissom looked slightly embarrassed, "Ok, then. I just wanted to make sure; it's not like you to be sick."  
  
Catherine rolled her eyes at Grissom as they left the break room.  
  
Sara headed to the locker room where she knew she'd find Nick and Warrick gathering their gear. As she walked over to her locker, she threw Nick a mischievous glare, "You're going to pay for the hearing comment later, Stokes."  
  
"I'm just looking out for your wellbeing there, Sidle." Nick threw back with a glint in his eye.  
  
Warrick chuckled, "You were somewhere else in there, Sara?"  
  
Sara looked over at Warrick, "I'm driving." She picked up her kit and walked out into the parking lot to wait for the other two CSIs. As she walked, she thought of all the possibilities of how she could make Nick pay for his comment, and all the places they could make the transaction. A smile played at her lips. If anyone knew their secret, they'd be shocked.  
  
Nick and Warrick joined her a few minutes later. They headed toward the Strip and the db that awaited them in an ally nearby. 


	3. Rain

Detective Vega was on the scene when the trio of CSIs arrived. The body sat up against the back door of a video store. Three gunshot wounds were visible immediately, and at first glance it appeared they had been shot at close range. Sara began photographing the scene.  
  
Warrick took statements from possible witnesses.  
  
Nick began searching for bullet casings. There didn't appear to be any. That in and of itself seemed strange. He noticed tire marks, "Sara, I've got tire marks."  
  
She walked over and photographed the marks, "Could explain why there doesn't seem to be any bullet casings."  
  
They continued processing the scene until David, the assistant coroner, arrived to remove the body.  
  
After the body was removed, they didn't find much else in the way of evidence to collect. There were no typical signs of a gang shooting. Gang usually left something behind purposely to take credit for a shooting.  
  
"Hey, guys." Sara called out, "I think there's some colored glass over here." She shown her mini Maglite on the area as Nick and Warrick walked over.  
  
"There's nothing wrong with your eyes." Nick commented, knowing she'd get him for it later, and oh, boy, was he looking forward to that.  
  
Sara photographed the glass and Nick picked it up with tweezers, "Hey, Warrick, got a bindle?"  
  
Warrick held out a small evidence envelope for Nick to place the glass fragments into.  
  
With that, they concluded they had covered the scene. And then, it started to rain. When it rained in Vegas, it poured. Within seconds the trio was soaked to the skin. They quickly packed their gear into the Tahoe and headed back to the lab.  
  
Looking very much like drowned rats they checked the evidence in and headed to the locker room. They each grabbed clothes out of their lockers, kept there for just such a situation, and headed off to shower and change in one of the many shower rooms.  
  
Sara had just pulled her shoes and socks off in the small shower room when she heard a small tap at the door. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she considered the possibilities. She opened the door and there stood a grinning Nick. She raised an eyebrow at him as he quickly slipped into the room, locking the door behind him. A wicked smile played across Nick's face and he pulled Sara close to him and began nibbling at her ear.  
  
A giggle escaped from Sara, "What are you doing, Nick?"  
  
"Shh, someone might hear us. I'm checking your hearing." He waggled his eyebrows at her.  
  
Sara placed her hands on either side of his face and placed a scorching kiss on his lips. Their mouths opened and their tongues danced furiously. Her hands slid down his chest and tugged at the bottom of his shirt, pulling it over his head and flinging it in no particular direction. Nick began unbuttoning Sara's blouse, pulling it off her shoulders and planting kisses on her exposed flesh. Sara let her blouse drop to the floor and put her arms around his neck. Nick's hands encircled her waist, fingers caressing bare flesh, stopping long enough to unhook her bra and toss it across the room. Sara worked the button on Nick's jeans and pulled the zipper down. Her hand grazed him, and he gasped. She slid her arms up Nick's chest and wrapped them around his neck, pulling him into a deep kiss. Nick caressed Sara's back and reveled in the feel of her bare breasts against his chest. He leaned down and peppered kisses on her neck, reaching between them to unzip her pants. The wet fabric of their pants clung to their bodies. Nick tugged at the offending garment without much success. Sara started to giggle. Nick swore under his breath and then chuckled at the humor of the situation. They stepped apart for a moment and peeled their own jeans off. As soon as they had finished removing the remainder of their clothes, Nick pulled Sara against him and claimed her lips in a passionate kiss. He slid his hands down her back cupping her buttocks. Sara walked backwards into the shower, pulling Nick with her. She reached over and turned the water on smiling. The stood there under the stream of water thoroughly touching and tasting each others bodies. The sound of the shower muffled their moans of pleasure as Nick held Sara up against the wall and joined their bodies.  
  
A short time later, Warrick walked into the break room to find Sara sitting at the table sipping a cup of coffee, "Is the coffee fresh?" He inquired.  
  
She nodded, "Greg just made it." She looked over at Warrick and smiled, "You look warmer."  
  
He chuckled, "Yeah, something about dry clothes. I think Nick must still be in the shower or something." Warrick poured himself a cup of coffee and joined Sara at the table.  
  
A few minutes later, Nick walked in looking as if he was a human Popsicle. Warrick laughed, "Dude, get some coffee, you look like you're freezing."  
  
In his distinct Texas drawl Nick looked over at Warrick and Sara as he poured his coffee, "Yeah, my shower was a little cold. I think someone used up all the hot water."  
  
Warrick chuckled.  
  
Sara smiled as she sipped her coffee. Nick had stayed behind in the shower room to take a cold shower so they could make it through the rest of shift. If only Warrick knew, he'd fall over.  
  
Nick raised his eyebrow slightly at Sara as he sipped his coffee. He was thinking the same thing. 


	4. A Decision

Nick had finally warmed up after drinking a cup of coffee. Truth be told he was warm as soon as he had walked into the break room and seen Sara. So much for taking a cold shower. A smile tugged at his lips at the thoughts going through his head. He couldn't wait until shift was over. He, Sara, and Warrick were in one of the layout rooms going over the evidence they had collected in the alley. "Nick!" Warrick said for the third time.  
  
Nick's head finally turned toward his friend and colleague, "What?" Nick had a lost expression on his face.  
  
"I've tried getting your attention for the last couple of minutes; maybe you should get your hearing checked." Warrick concluded.  
  
Nick looked over at Sara for a moment. She stood over by Warrick and had apparently caught everything he said. A faint smile tugged at her mouth, and she raised an eyebrow slightly. Nick looked back at Warrick, "Sorry, man, I was just concentrating. What do you have?"  
  
Warrick motioned to the scope he was looking through, "The glass you found comes from a high end Mercedes."  
  
Nick raised his eyebrows, "You know if you lose a key to one of those you practically have to sign over your first born to get a replacement."  
  
Warrick nodded, "Yeah, I know. They keep extremely detailed records. I'm gonna call Vega and see if we can get a warrant to find out who owns one in Vegas."  
  
"Have we gotten a match on the tire treads we found?" Sara inquired.  
  
Nick shook his head, "Still waiting for film to develop so we can do a comparison."  
  
"We might be able to narrow it down further once we've got that," Warrick commented.  
  
"You know, I don't think this is gang related at all. At least not street gangs." Sara observed.  
  
"Mob?" Nick asked looking at her curiously.  
  
"I don't know. But it's definitely not your typical gang shooting." Sara replied.  
  
"Well I'm going to go see if I can get that warrant." Warrick commented as he left the layout room.  
  
Sara looked over at Nick and smirked at him, "So, how did that cold shower work out for you?"  
  
He looked up at her and let his guarded expression slip for a moment, "Sara, I don't know how much longer we can do this." It was evident by his expression that he'd like to kiss her senseless right there if he could.  
  
Sara grinned at him, her eyes caressing his face, "I know, I was thinking the same thing. Maybe we should talk about it later."  
  
Nick nodded, grinning at her, "Yeah, we should."  
  
They both turned back to what they were working on as they heard Warrick coming back into the layout room. Sara turned toward the door and asked, "Did you get the warrant?"  
  
Warrick shook his head, "Vega doesn't want to wake the judge on this one. We should have it by next shift though." Warrick smiled, "Hey, at least we won't have to pull a double though. Do you guys want to grab breakfast after shift?"  
  
Nick looked at his watch, "You mean in twenty minutes, War?" He grinned at his friend.  
  
Warrick chuckled, "I guess I lost track of time."  
  
Sara smiled at the two men, "Hey, you guys go. I've got to run some errands before I go home, and I'm really tired. I need to go to bed early."  
  
"Ok, Sara." Warrick replied, "What about you, Nick? You in?"  
  
Nick nodded, "Yeah, I've got time for a quick bite."  
  
The trio wrapped up what they were working on and headed out to the parking lot. Sara climbed into her Tahoe and waved at the guys as she headed home. Nick and Warrick headed off to the diner.  
  
The two CSIs sat at the table chatting about football and video games, when Warrick changed the topic, "You need to get yourself a woman, Nick. You've been acting a little too distracted lately."  
  
Nick tried to suppress a grin, "I'll let you know when I find the right woman, Warrick. I'm done with the party scene."  
  
"Why don't you let Catherine set you up?" Warrick took a bite of his food.  
  
Nick shook his head, "No offense, but I haven't had very good luck with blind dates." Nick was almost done with his meal.  
  
Warrick chuckled, "Just think about it, man. There's a new girl in evidence who seems to be eyeing you. You need a woman." Warrick finished up the rest of his food and they paid the check.  
  
Warrick dropped Nick off at the lab and Nick got in his Tahoe and drove home. He smiled as he opened the door; he knew what he'd find. He put his keys down on the table by the phone. He walked down the hallway and opened the door to his bedroom. There lay Sara on top of the comforter curled up with a pillow in her arms. Her even breathing indicated that she was asleep. He kicked off his shoes and crawled onto the bed and lay next to Sara, putting his arms around her. He smiled as her eyes fluttered open and a smile radiated across her face.  
  
"Hey, sleepyhead," Nick kissed her on the forehead.  
  
"I was really tired." Sara replied with a grin.  
  
"Are you still tired?" Nick asked softly, with genuine concern.  
  
Sara reached over and traced his lips with her fingers, "I'll never be tired of you."  
  
Nick grinned looking into her eyes, "Oh, Sara, I love you so much."  
  
Sara snuggled into his arms, tossing the pillow off the bed, "I love you too, Nick."  
  
"Do you think we should tell them?" Nick queried.  
  
Sara looked into his eyes, "We told your parents. That seemed to go pretty well."  
  
Nick chuckled, "Yeah, it did, didn't it?"  
  
"Grissom is going to kill us. Of course, Catherine or Warrick might too." Sara sighed.  
  
Nick leaned his forehead against hers and rested his hand on her hip, "Greg is going to be devastated, he's in love with you, you know."  
  
Sara giggled, "David is too."  
  
Nick chuckled and rolled onto his back, pulling Sara with him, so she rested on his chest. Sara propped herself up on his chest, "I think we should tell them. I don't know how much longer I can handle this."  
  
Nick put his arms around her waist, "Tonight then?"  
  
Sara nodded and grinned, "Yeah, tonight."  
  
Sara leaned down and kissed Nick passionately. A slow removal of clothing followed. They made love slowly and fell asleep with their bodies tangled together. 


	5. Revelations

Sara woke to the sound of the shower. A smile played across her lips at the memory that it evoked. She let out a deep sigh. She knew that tonight would not be easy. Grissom would be upset. There would be no getting around that. Catherine and Warrick would be hurt. Greg would be crushed. But she was tired of sneaking around and she knew Nick was too. Not that it hadn't been interesting for the last month or so. They couldn't seem to keep their hands off of each other when they were alone. The broom closet wasn't the best location for passionate kisses, but there was less traffic there than in the ladies restroom. Then there was the shower. She knew they couldn't get into that habit. They were lucky they hadn't been caught yet. In fact it surprised her that no one seemed to suspect a thing. Nick had told her that just this morning after shift that Warrick had been giving him a hard time about not having a woman. If only Warrick knew the truth. If only all of them knew the truth. They would know soon enough though, and then after the dust had settled they would see what the implications would be. Sara had been lost in thought and she had not heard the water stop. Nick stood there with a towel slung low over his hips studying her with a lopsided grin on his face, "You sleep well, Sara?"  
  
She looked up at him and smiled, "How could I not sleep well with the sexiest man alive next to me."  
  
Nick chuckled and then looked at her with a serious expression, "Are you sure you want to tell them all tonight?"  
  
"I'm scared to death, Nick. But I'm tired of sneaking around to be with you. I was just thinking that we've been pretty lucky that we haven't been caught." She smiled at him and sat up in bed not bothering to pull the sheet up around her.  
  
"I know, I guess the broom closet, the drying room, and the ladies room aren't exactly the most romantic places to have my way with you." Nick waggled his eyebrows.  
  
Sara laughed, "It takes two to tango you know." She got out of bed and wrapped her arms around his waist, planting a passionate kiss on his lips.  
  
In a husky voice Nick replied, "You tango pretty well, Sara." His hands roamed her nude body as his tongue sought entry into her mouth. As she returned the kiss, Sara's hands pulled at the towel around his waist and let it drop to the floor. She pulled him back onto the bed and her hands began caressing his body as he lay next to her. Nick whispered in her ear, "Sara, as much as I want to continue, if we're going to tell them tonight, we need to get ready for work."  
  
She traced the features on his face with her fingers, "I know." Reluctantly, Sara got up and went to take a shower. When she emerged, Nick was dressed. She quickly got dressed herself and they headed into work, each driving alone.  
  
They pulled in next to one another. They had planned to get to work early so they could talk to Grissom first. He was always in an hour to two before everyone else on the nightshift. Nick and Sara walked toward Grissom's office together. They paused at his door and knocked.  
  
Grissom looked up from the file he was reviewing with a curious expression on his face, "You two are here early."  
  
Nick nodded, "Yeah. Hey, Gris, do you have a couple of minutes? Sara and I want to talk to you about something."  
  
Grissom waved them in. He raised a curious eyebrow when Nick shut the door behind them. They both took a seat across from Grissom in the chairs in front of his desk. Grissom queried, "How's the case going?"  
  
"Uh, it's fine. Slow. But that's not what we wanted to talk to you about." Sara replied.  
  
Grissom's curiosity was piqued, "What's this about then?"  
  
Nick let out a deep sigh, looked over at Sara for a moment, and then back at Grissom before continuing, "Uh, Gris, Sara and I have been seeing each other."  
  
A surprised expression crossed Grissom's face, "So, you're dating?"  
  
Sara looked over at Nick and then back at Grissom, "Not exactly."  
  
A confused expression crossed Grissom's face, "What exactly do you mean?"  
  
"We were dating." Nick replied.  
  
Grissom shook his head for a moment, "So you're not now?"  
  
"Not exactly." Sara replied.  
  
Grissom took off his glasses and rubbed his temples, "Would one of you just tell me what is going on."  
  
Nick looked over at Sara and then back at Grissom, "Do you remember when Sara and I had to drive to Arizona to pick up that exhumed body?"  
  
Grissom nodded.  
  
"Well, the road trip was a bit of a revelation for us. We started seeing a lot of each other after that. Uh, we didn't tell anyone because we wanted to see what would happen." Nick continued.  
  
"Just in case things didn't work out between us." Sara interjected.  
  
Grissom was having a hard time following, "So are you dating now?"  
  
Nick shook his head, "No." He tried to suppress a smile.  
  
Grissom raised an eyebrow, "Sara, are you pregnant?"  
  
"No!" Sara exclaimed with a bit of laughter in her voice. She looked over at Nick with her eyebrows raised with an expression that indicated that he'd better get to the point.  
  
Nick chuckled, "Grissom, Sara is not pregnant. We're not dating anymore because about a month ago, we eloped."  
  
A look of utter shock crossed Grissom's face, "You got married?"  
  
Sara grinned and nodded, "Yeah. We got married."  
  
Nick reached over and took Sara's hand.  
  
Grissom looked mildly upset, "I'm not sure what to say here."  
  
Nick stood up, "We just wanted to tell you before shift started. We plan on telling the rest of the team before you give out assignments."  
  
Grissom nodded, somewhat shell shocked.  
  
Sara stood and joined Nick as he exited Grissom's office and headed toward the locker room. As they stood next to their lockers, Nick turned to Sara, his hands on his hips, "That went well." There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice.  
  
A smile tugged at the corners of Sara's mouth, "What did you expect, he's practically my father." She stepped toward him and slid her arms around his waist.  
  
Nick put his arms around her and closed his eyes as he breathed in the scent that was uniquely Sara, "I love you."  
  
"I know. I love you too." She smiled and tipped her head back to look at him.  
  
As he opened his eyes, he grinned at her and leaned down to plant a kiss on her upturned lips. 


	6. Confession Time

Nick and Sara finished stowing their gear into their lockers. Sara reached over and placed her hand on Nick's arm, "You know Catherine and Warrick are going to be hurt we didn't tell them." Nick nodded, "I know, especially after the conversation Warrick and I had at breakfast this morning." He chuckled at what Warrick might say if he had known the truth about Nick's love life. Well he'd find out soon enough. Nick closed his locker and leaned his shoulder against it arms crossed in front of him looking over at Sara who had a mischievous grin on her face. He raised an eyebrow, "What?"  
  
She stepped toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Shift doesn't start for a while." A wide grin broke out over Nick's face. He put his hands on her small waist and pulled her against him, leaning down to kiss her. Sara's tongue demanded entry into Nick's mouth. He readily complied. Their tongues began a slow sensuous dance. His hands began to roam and found their way under the back of her shirt. He could feel her pressing her body against him as he caressed her bare skin. Sara's fingers played at the nape of his neck. She let one hand slide down and pull at the hem of his shirt, sliding her hand underneath to caress his muscular back with her fingers.  
  
The creak of the door caused them to break the kiss, but not before Warrick caught the full display of their affection. They broke apart trying to pull themselves together to see Warrick standing there with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Warrick looked from Nick to Sara and back to Nick with his mouth agape.  
  
Sara began to giggle and Nick couldn't wipe the grin from his face. Nick looked at Warrick with a slightly sheepish expression on his face, "I guess its confession time."  
  
"Damn!" Warrick finally managed, "When did this happen?"  
  
Nick tried to contain his grin, "Well, do you remember when Sara and I had to drive to Arizona to pick up that body we had exhumed?"  
  
Warrick nodded, "Yeah, that was about six month ago." His jaw dropped, "You don't mean to tell me you've been hiding this that long?"  
  
Nick nodded, "Yeah, man, we have." Sara took Nick's hand and smiled at him giving him a nod to continue. "Actually, Warrick, we've got a little more to confess."  
  
Warrick's eyebrows shot up and he looked over at Sara, "Are you pregnant?"  
  
"No!" Sara shook her head a laugh in her voice. "I'm not pregnant." She looked at Nick with a raised eyebrow, "How come that's the first thing people think? First your parents, then Grissom, now Warrick."  
  
Nick looked at Sara with a twinkle in his eyes, "I'm sure that's a reflection on me, Sar, not on you." He caressed her cheek with his fingers.  
  
Warrick stood there, arms crossed in front of him, "So, what else?"  
  
Nick looked over at Warrick, with a lopsided grin on his face, "We eloped."  
  
"Damn!" Warrick exclaimed pulling Sara into a hug, "When did this happen?"  
  
Nick's grin turned a bit sheepish, "About a month ago."  
  
Warrick's jaw dropped.  
  
Sara put her arm on Warrick's arm, "We didn't know how to tell anyone."  
  
A soft smile spread across Warrick's face as he looked at Sara and then over at Nick, "Congratulations."  
  
"Thanks, man." Nick replied.  
  
Sara gave Warrick a curious expression, "Is Catherine here yet?"  
  
"She's probably in the break room," Warrick replied. "You haven't told her yet."  
  
Sara shook her head, "The only people that know are you, Grissom, and Nick's parents."  
  
Nick offered Sara his hand, "I guess there's no time like the present." He let out a deep sigh and the trio headed toward the break room.  
  
Catherine was seated in the break room sipping a cup of coffee. Warrick sauntered in first and walked over to pour himself a cup. Catherine opened her mouth to greet the rest of the team, but her words stopped when she noticed Nick and Sara holding hands. She watched the pair as they silently walked in and got coffee. They were all seated at the table in the middle of the room before Catherine managed to say something. Nick and Sara sat next to each other, their fingers intertwined.  
  
Catherine raised her eyebrows in a curious expression, "Did I miss something?"  
  
Nick chuckled, "Whatever do you mean, Catherine?"  
  
A wry expression crossed her face, "Since when have you and Sara been an item?"  
  
Warrick chuckled, "That's a loaded question, Cath."  
  
Catherine looked at Warrick quizzically, "Will someone tell me what's going on?" She looked at Sara and raised an eyebrow.  
  
Sara sipped her coffee and replied, "Do you want the short version or the long version?"  
  
"How about the short version." Catherine replied.  
  
Nick took a sip of his coffee and then looked over at Catherine with a lopsided grin on his face, "Sara and I eloped."  
  
Catherine had a look of shock on her face, "Ok, that's an answer I never expected." She continued, "When did this happen?"  
  
Sara grinned, "About a month ago."  
  
Catherine choked on her coffee, "Excuse me?"  
  
Nick looked over at Sara and then turned to Catherine, "We got married a month ago."  
  
Catherine shot Nick a slightly annoyed look, "I got that part."  
  
Warrick had a bemused grin on his face as he watched.  
  
Catherine shot him a glare before turning back to Sara, "Mind giving us a little more information?"  
  
Nick chuckled, "Catherine, do you remember when Sara and I drove to Arizona to pick up that body we had exhumed?"  
  
She nodded, "Yeah, what's your point?"  
  
Sara replied, "We started dating then." She took another sip of her coffee.  
  
Catherine's jaw dropped and she turned to Warrick, "Did you know about this?"  
  
Warrick shook his head, "I've got about 5 minutes on you."  
  
A slightly hurt expression crossed her face, "Why didn't you tell us?"  
  
Sara looked over at Catherine, a serious expression on her face, "Cath, we weren't sure how things were going to work out when we started dating, so we didn't want anyone to know. When we decided to elope, we weren't sure how to tell anyone, especially since no one knew we were dating."  
  
Nick added, "We only told my parents last week."  
  
A concerned look crossed Catherine's face as she turned to Sara, "Are you pregnant?"  
  
Nick chuckled, "Sara is not pregnant, Catherine."  
  
A look of exasperation crossed Sara's face, "Why does everyone think I'd have to be pregnant for you to marry me?"  
  
"Sorry, Sara, you're not the one with the reputation." Catherine smirked at Nick.  
  
Nick looked over at Sara squeezing her hand, "Sara, I love you. That's why I married you."  
  
Sara grinned back at him caressing his hand with her thumb, "I know. I love you too."  
  
Catherine developed a wry grin, "Sara, I just have one question for you."  
  
Sara looked over at her, "What's that?"  
  
Catherine took a sip of her coffee, "Yesterday. In the ladies room. Were you alone?"  
  
Sara blushed furiously, trying to stifle a grin. Nick grinned, squeezed Sara's hand and raised an eyebrow at Catherine in response.  
  
Catherine chuckled, "I don't think I want to know anymore. Although, that does explain a few things about the drying room and the broom closet." She took another sip from her coffee.  
  
Nick blushed and chuckled.  
  
Warrick looked at the couple and laughed.  
  
Sara was just glad that neither of them knew about the shower room.  
  
Grissom walked into the break room and got himself a cup of coffee. He looked over at Nick and Sara, "I take it you told them."  
  
Nick nodded.  
  
Grissom looked at Sara, "Have you told Greg yet?"  
  
Sara shook her head as the lab tech walked in. Greg looked around the room, not noticing that Nick and Sara were holding hands, "Tell me what yet?" 


	7. Greg

Everyone in the break room turned their attention to Greg as he walked in. As he walked over and got himself a cup of coffee, Grissom, Catherine, and Warrick shifted their attention to Nick and Sara with expectant expressions on their faces. A smiling Greg repeated his earlier question, "Have you told me what yet?"  
  
"Greg, why don't you come have a seat over here." Nick gestured to the table they all sat at.  
  
Greg joined them. Only then did he notice Nick and Sara holding hands, "You ask Sara out or something, Nick?"  
  
Nick grinned at him, "Or something."  
  
Greg looked slightly confused, "You gonna fill me in, man?" He looked over at Sara, "You know if things don't work out with Nicky boy here, I'm always your man, Sara." He waggled his eyebrows.  
  
Sara had to stifle a laugh, "Greg, thanks for the offer, but I'm pretty sure things are going to work out with Nick."  
  
"So are you dating then?" Greg asked looking at the pair, hoping that he still might have a chance with Sara however remote it might be.  
  
Nick tried to suppress a grin, "No, Greg, Sara and I are not dating."  
  
Sara looked over at Nick and winked and then looked over at Greg, "We were though."  
  
Greg looked seriously confused, "I'm not following you."  
  
Warrick chuckled, "Will you two just put poor Greg out of his misery."  
  
"Yeah," Catherine echoed.  
  
Nick looked at Greg and cut to the chase, "Greg, Sara and I eloped."  
  
Greg's eyes widened, "Eloped, as in run away to get married?"  
  
Sara grinned, "Yes."  
  
Greg looked at her, his hopes dashed, "You married Nick? Isn't that kind of sudden? You could still get an annulment though, right?"  
  
Sara giggled.  
  
Nick chuckled.  
  
But Catherine was the one who answered, "Uh, Greg. You only get an annulment when you don't consummate the marriage."  
  
Warrick took a sip of his coffee before adding, "Yeah, and I'm pretty sure they've been consummating all over the place."  
  
Sara tried to suppress a blush.  
  
Nick grinned at raised his eyebrows, "Greg, we eloped a month ago."  
  
A realization dawned on Greg as he looked over at the pair, "That explains a lot." He waggled his eyebrows at the pair.  
  
Nick gave Greg a curious expression, "Like what?"  
  
Greg looked conspiratorial, "Ooh, I don't know." Greg was thoroughly enjoying this, "Isn't the door to the broom closet normally unlocked?" He winked at Sara. "Did you know the drying room isn't sound proof?" He waggled his eyebrows at Nick.  
  
"Greg, that's enough!" Grissom barked. His face wore an angry expression, "Nick. Sara. My office now!" With that Grissom set his coffee down and stepped purposefully out of the break room and down the hall toward his office.  
  
Nick and Sara silently got up and headed after him hand in hand.  
  
"I'd like to be a fly on that wall." Warrick commented taking a sip of his coffee.  
  
"Yeah, but I wouldn't want to be Nick or Sara right about now." Catherine replied.  
  
"Getting in trouble for getting kinky at work." Greg grinned.  
  
Catherine glared at Greg. Warrick snapped at him, "Sanders, can it!"  
  
Greg shut his mouth and finished his coffee. 


	8. Go Home

Grissom was steaming by the time Nick and Sara got to his office. Nick had barely shut the door when Grissom began his inquisition. He narrowed his gaze at the pair as they took a seat in his office for the second time that evening, "I'm going to be blunt. Have you had sex on the premises?" Sara squeezed Nick's hand as she looked at Grissom directly in the eyes, "Yes."  
  
This seemed to fan Grissom's anger, "On company time?"  
  
Nick squeezed Sara's hand and looked away from Grissom's penetrating gaze, "Yes."  
  
Grissom's voice began to rise, "At a crime scene?"  
  
Nick's eyes snapped up and glared at Grissom, "We're not that stupid, Grissom."  
  
"Answer the question, Nick." Grissom barked.  
  
Nick's eyes narrowed and he answered forcefully, "No. We haven't."  
  
Sara squeezed Nick's hand.  
  
"Where have you on company time?" Grissom demanded.  
  
Nick's anger began to flare, "I don't think we need to answer that."  
  
Grissom leaned over his desk with a glare on his face and began yelling, "Dammit, Nick! I need to know if you two have compromised any cases, any evidence because of your stupidity! Whether you like it or not, I do need to know! If you could have just kept it in your pants until you got home, we wouldn't be having this conversation!"  
  
Sara stood up, fuming, "Grissom, go to hell! We haven't contaminated any evidence."  
  
Nick glared at Grissom.  
  
Sara was yelling now, "You want to know all the details of our love life? Fine, I'll give you details! Where do you want me to start?! The drying room! I know you're dying to know what happened in there! Want me to tell you what Nick's kisses felt like?! Want me to tell you what it felt like to have his hands under my clothes touching my skin?! Is that what you want, Grissom?! We never had sex in there if that's what you're worried about! The same is true of the broom closet, the ladies restroom, and the locker room! None of that was on company time. Damn you, Grissom! We've had sex exactly once at work, and that was yesterday in the shower after we got drenched at a crime scene and had to come back and change! Want me to go into more detail?! Would our wedding night interest you?!"  
  
Grissom stood there quietly shaking his head, "No, Sara."  
  
Nick would have grinned at Sara if he wasn't so angry at Grissom. He glared at Grissom, "Are you satisfied, Grissom! Or would you like a record of every time I touch my wife and submit it to you for your approval?!"  
  
Grissom looked at Nick and then at Sara. In a soft, but firm voice he responded, "Nick. Sara. Go home. Cool down. I'll see you next shift." With that he got up and walked out of his office.  
  
"Damn him!" Sara exclaimed.  
  
Nick squeezed her hand, "Let's get out of here, Sara."  
  
As the pair walked out of the lab they realized that nearly everyone must have heard the tirade as glances were cast their way expressing surprise at the revelation of their relationship.  
  
They left Sara's Tahoe at the lab and drove home in Nick's. When they arrived home, Sara sunk down into the couch and began to cry. Nick wrapped his arms around her and just held her, stroking her hair until she fell asleep.  
  
Two hours later, there was a knock on the door. Nick shifted himself out of Sara's embrace, trying not to wake her and got up to answer the door. He opened the door to find Catherine and Warrick standing there. Nick wore a guarded expression.  
  
"Hey, Nicky. We just wanted to make sure you were ok." Catherine offered.  
  
Nick nodded looking at the floor.  
  
"How's Sara?" Warrick inquired.  
  
"She' asleep." Nick replied looking up at his friends.  
  
"Nick, who's there?" A groggy Sara voice called out.  
  
Nick opened the door and gestured Catherine and Warrick inside. Sara had sat up on the couch and was trying to wipe the sleep out of her eyes.  
  
Warrick spoke in a soft voice, "Hey, girl, we just came to check up on you and Nick."  
  
A smile tugged at the corners of Sara's mouth, "Thanks." She looked over at Catherine with a quizzical look, "Aren't you supposed to be working?"  
  
Catherine gave her a wry smile, "Grissom was being such an ass we told him we had vacation time coming and we were taking it. He's working the rest of shift alone."  
  
Nick chuckled, "I can't believe you did that."  
  
Sara sat there with her jaw hanging open, "No way."  
  
Warrick just nodded, "Way. We figured you two were way more important than any crime scene tonight. I just feel bad for you that the entire lab had to find out like that."  
  
Sara cringed as she remembered the words she yelled at Grissom, "So everyone heard what I said then?"  
  
Catherine wore a devilish grin, "The way you were yelling at Grissom, I think a few people wouldn't have been surprised if you'd given him a demonstration right there in his office just to make a point."  
  
Sara's jaw dropped for a moment at the thought and then looked over at Nick and started laughing as he waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.  
  
Warrick's eyebrows shot up and he raised his hands in surrender, "If we're interrupting something here, we can be on our way."  
  
Sara winked at Warrick, "I think I can restrain myself from ripping Nick's clothes off and having my way with him for a little while longer."  
  
"Can I get a raincheck on that for later, honey?" Nick winked at her.  
  
"Count on it." She grinned at Nick.  
  
Catherine laughed, "I for one don't want details about your sex life, but I am interested in how you got together."  
  
Sara looked over at Nick and smiled, "This might take a while." She turned to Warrick and Catherine, "You guys hungry? I can order out for some Chinese."  
  
"I don't know about Catherine, but I could sure go for some." Warrick answered.  
  
Nick looked over at his friend with a raised eyebrow, "Warrick, name a time you're not hungry?"  
  
Warrick let out a chuckle.  
  
Sara got on the phone and ordered some Chinese food for delivery. The group settled themselves in the living room and Nick began, "Well, like I said, it started when we drove to Arizona." 


	9. There Is No Arizona

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters. "There is No Arizona" - Written by Jamie O'Neal/Lisa Drew/Shaye Smith  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
'He promised her a new and better life out in Arizona  
  
underneath the blue never endin' sky,  
  
swore that he was gonna get things in order,  
  
he'd send for her  
  
when he left her behind it never crossed her mind There is no Arizona  
  
No Painted Desert, no Sedona,  
  
If there was a Grand Canyon  
  
She could fill it up with the lies he's told her,  
  
but they don't exist, those dreams he sold her  
  
She'll wake up and find there is no Arizona.  
  
do dn do dn do do She got a postcard with no return address, postmarked Tombstone  
  
It said I don't know where I'm goin' next,  
  
but when I do I'll let ya know  
  
May, June, July she wonders why she's still waiting  
  
She'll keep waiting cause There is no Arizona  
  
No Painted Desert, no Sedona,  
  
If there was a Grand Canyon  
  
She could fill it up with the lies he's told her,  
  
but they don't exist, those dreams he sold her  
  
She'll wake up and find there is no Arizona. Each day the sun sets into the west,  
  
her heart sinks lower in her chest,  
  
and friends keep askin' when she's goin',  
  
Finally she tells them  
  
Don't you know There is no Arizona  
  
No Painted Desert, No Sedona,  
  
If there was A Grand Canyon  
  
She could fill it up with the lies he's told her,  
  
but they don't exist, those dreams he sold her  
  
She'll wake up and find there is no Arizona.  
  
do dn do dn do do He promised her a new and better life, out in Arizona'  
  
As the song ended, Sara turned the radio off and mutter to Nick who was driving the Tahoe toward Arizona, "Typical."  
  
A wry grin crossed his face, "What's that supposed to mean, Sara Sidle?"  
  
"Men." She stated looking ahead at the road.  
  
He chuckled, "That's pretty cynical."  
  
Sara glanced over at him, "After Hank, I am pretty cynical. It's safer that way."  
  
He cocked an eyebrow at her, "So you're going to let one ass jade you for the rest of your life just to spite him?"  
  
Sara shot Nick and indignant glance, "He's not the only one."  
  
He chuckled, "Ok, lest I forget Grissom. Are you going to let these two men who are as relationally inept as hell shape your opinion of every other man on the planet just to spite them?"  
  
Sara just crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked out the window at the desert. They were only an hour into sixteen hour drive to pick up a body in Tucson, Arizona that had a direct bearing on their current case. Sara glanced at the warrant for the exhumation on the seat next to her.  
  
They rode in silence for a little while. Nick kept stealing glances at Sara, trying to keep his grin in check. Sara pretended not to notice, preferring to try and fume.  
  
Finally, she turned to him, "I'm not trying to spite them."  
  
Nick let out an audible chuckle, "Even if you were, you wouldn't succeed."  
  
Sara's eyebrows shot up and looked over at him defensively, "What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Sara, the only person you're spiting is yourself. You're letting them rob you of any future happiness with someone simply because they both acted like jerks." Nick replied.  
  
"It's still safer that way," Sara muttered under her breath, but not softly enough.  
  
Nick gave her a curious glance, "Why do you say that?"  
  
Sara looked over at him with a curious stare, "Why do you care?"  
  
He raised his eyebrows and glanced at her, "Why do you think I wouldn't?"  
  
With a slightly exasperated expression she replied, "Do you have to answer every question with a question?"  
  
Nick chuckled, "You didn't answer the question."  
  
"Neither did you." Sara smirked.  
  
They rode along in silence for a while.  
  
Sara finally broke the silence, "It's safer because I won't get hurt again that way." She looked out the window at the passing landscape, which wasn't much different than what they'd looked at since they got outside the city limits of Vegas.  
  
Nick wore a studied expression, "Sara, don't you want to be loved?"  
  
"It doesn't matter." She snapped back. Her face was set and she looked out the window again, pulling her arms tighter around herself.  
  
Nick was perplexed, "Yes it does matter, Sara."  
  
"Nick, why is my love life so important to you anyway? Why does it matter whether I ever date anyone again? How did it suddenly become your mission in life to fix whatever is wrong with Sara? Huh?" She glared at him. "And while we're on the subject, why is it that Nick Stokes doesn't have a girlfriend? You can certainly give other people advice, but when was the last time you took it? You keep telling Archie and Greg to go for it, but what about you? Who jaded you?" Sara turned back to look at the window.  
  
Nick didn't respond. He just kept driving. Curious, Sara glanced at him. Nick looked like he'd been hit in the gut. He caught her glance and replied softly, "You're right. I'm sorry. We can drop it if you want."  
  
Sara didn't know what to say. Nick usually always had a come back for everything. She wasn't used to seeing him like this. She reached over and turned the radio on.  
  
'There is no Arizona, no Painted Desert, no Sedona'  
  
She turned it off, "Dammit, don't they have anything besides country music out here?"  
  
Nick didn't reply, his jaw was set and he kept driving.  
  
Sara saw a sign for a rest stop ahead, "Can we stop there? I need to stretch my legs."  
  
"Sure." Nick replied, his voice neutral.  
  
He pulled the Tahoe into the rest stop. Three other cars were in the parking lot. Sara hopped out of the SUV and made her way to the restroom. Nick let out a deep sigh and chided himself for pushing his questions too far. He got out of the Tahoe and went to the restroom. When he emerged he didn't see Sara near the Tahoe, so he decided to stretch his legs, taking a walk toward the edge of the rest stop. He stood there for a while, just looking out at the landscape.  
  
He heard the crunch of gravel underfoot and Sara's tentative voice, "Nick, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I know you were only trying to be helpful."  
  
He turned toward her, "It's ok, Sara. I shouldn't have pushed."  
  
She raised an eyebrow at him with a friendly expression, "Sometimes I need a good push. I shouldn't have said what I did to you."  
  
Nick's expression finally softened, "It's ok. Forget about it." He gestured toward the Tahoe, "Hey, we still have a body to pick up." 


	10. No Painted Desert

The pair returned to the Tahoe and continued driving toward Tucson. Sara let out a deep sigh as she watched the desert scenery go by.  
  
Nick glanced over at her as he drove, "Hey, Sara, if I overstepped my bounds earlier, I really am sorry."  
  
Sara looked at him, "Nick, stop it. I said it was ok. I meant it."  
  
Nick glanced at her, "Ok, I just wanted to make sure."  
  
Sara rested her head against the window and held her arms around herself. Her thoughts drifted to what Nick had said earlier. He was right, but she didn't want to admit it. She wanted to be loved, but it scared the hell out of her that she would have to open herself up to someone for that to happen and risk rejection. Damn Hank. Damn Grissom. Sara glanced at her watch. Five hours to go until they arrived in Tucson, then another eight hours to drive back. She clenched her jaw and closed her eyes. She couldn't sit in the Tahoe with Nick for another thirteen hours and not talk. She let out another deep sigh and turned toward Nick, "Hey, Nick?"  
  
He glance at her, looking a bit tired, "Yeah?"  
  
"We don't have to drop it?" She replied.  
  
Nick gave her a quizzical expression, "Drop what?"  
  
Sara chuckled, "Sorry, I suppose I should have prefaced that. We don't have to drop what we were talking about earlier."  
  
Nick shrugged his shoulders, "Ok." He turned his attention back to driving.  
  
Sara let out a sigh, "Nick, we're going to be driving for quite a while, can we just talk. The silence is driving me crazy."  
  
Nick shook his head and let out a chuckle, "Ok, your topic, Sidle."  
  
"You're right, you know." Sara stated, purposely not looking at Nick.  
  
"About what?" Nick replied.  
  
"It is important. Love I mean." Sara replied still looking out at the desert.  
  
A smile played at the corners of Nick's mouth, "Do you want me to just sit here and listen or are you going to get mad at me if we continue this conversation?"  
  
Sara's eyebrows shot up, "I wasn't mad at you!"  
  
"Really." Nick raised an eyebrow as he glanced over at her.  
  
Sara tried to suppress a smile, "Ok, I was mad, but only because you were right."  
  
Nick chuckled, "Sara, you don't want people telling you the truth because they might be right. You don't want to open yourself up because you might get hurt. Life involves pain whether you like it or not. If you wall yourself off from everyone and everything, that's not living."  
  
"Yeah, that's Grissom." Sara muttered shaking her head.  
  
Nick looked at Sara with at thoughtful expression, "Yeah, it is him. And it could just as easily be one of us."  
  
Sara looked at Nick with a curious expression, "Nick, can I ask you something personal?"  
  
Nick let out a sigh, "Yeah, shoot."  
  
"Why aren't you dating anyone? You're a great guy, I would think you'd have women lining up around the block." Sara queried.  
  
A smile crept over Nick's face, "Sara, I'm just not looking for what I used to. I'm not interested in those kind of women. Maybe it has something to do with having been a suspect in a murder investigation, it does wonders for your social life."  
  
Sara looked over at him with a puzzled expression, "But, you didn't do it. The evidence clearly showed that Jack killed her."  
  
Nick looked over at her with a sad smile, "I know that and you know that, but other people don't necessarily look at the evidence the way we do. Can you blame a girl for not wanting to go out with someone whose last date ended up murdered and happened to be in a less than reputable line of work?"  
  
A look of compassion swept over Sara's face, "Oh, Nick. I'm so sorry. Those women are idiots. They don't know what they're missing."  
  
Nick chuckled, "It's ok, Sara. Anyone who won't look past the surface isn't worth my time anyway." He turned his attention back to the road.  
  
Sara turned in the seat to face Nick, "Hey, can I ask you another question?"  
  
"Shoot." Nick replied.  
  
She cocked her head slightly, "Why do you care about my love life?"  
  
Nick glanced at her, a slight grin on his face, "You promise you won't get mad at me? This is where the conversation took a turn for the worse earlier."  
  
Sara tried to suppress a grin and crossed her arms in front of herself, "Ok. I promise."  
  
Nick raised a teasing eyebrow at her, "Ok, but remember, you promised."  
  
Sara chuckled, "Alright."  
  
He glanced over at her, "Sara, I care because you're my friend. That's what friends do. You're selling yourself far too short to not take a risk. Just because two relationally inept men happen to not notice how great you are does not mean that there isn't someone out there that will treat you the way you deserve to be treated."  
  
"How can you be so sure?" Sara replied looking away from Nick.  
  
A bemused grin crossed Nick's face, "Do I need to spell it out for you, Sara?" 


	11. No Sedona

Nick raised an eyebrow at Sara, "Ok, I'm going to spell it out for you. But first you need to listen to something."  
  
"What?" Sara replied.  
  
"In the glove box is a Sammy Kershaw CD. Put it in the CD player." He gestured.  
  
Sara rolled her eyes, "More country music?"  
  
Nick chuckled, "Humor me."  
  
Sara opened the glove box and found the Sammy Kershaw CD. She popped it into the CD player.  
  
Nick reached over and pushed the forward button until he found the song he was looking for. He glanced over at Sara, "Just listen to this, ok."  
  
Sara sat back in her seat as Nick drove and listened to the song.  
  
'We go out to a party somewhere  
  
The moment we walk in the door  
  
People stop and everybody stares  
  
She don't know what they're staring for  
  
She don't know she's beautiful  
  
(never crossed her mind)  
  
She don't know she's beautiful  
  
(no she's not that kind)  
  
She don't know she's beautiful  
  
Though time and time I've told her so  
  
There she goes just walking down the street  
  
And someone lets a whistle out  
  
A girl like her she just can't see  
  
What the fuss is all about  
  
And she don't know she's beautiful  
  
(never crossed her mind)  
  
She don't know she's beautiful  
  
(no she's not that kind)  
  
She don't know she's beautiful  
  
Though time and time I've told her so  
  
Morning comes and her hair's all a mess  
  
That's when she thinks she looks her worst  
  
It's times like this she don't know why  
  
I can't take my eyes off her  
  
'Cause she don't know she's beautiful  
  
(never crossed her mind)  
  
She don't know she's beautiful  
  
(no she's not that kind)  
  
She don't know she's beautiful  
  
Though time and time I've told her  
  
She don't know she's beautiful  
  
(never crossed her mind)  
  
She don't know she's beautiful  
  
(no she's not that kind)  
  
She don't know she's beautiful  
  
Though time and time I've told her  
  
She don't know she's beautiful  
  
(never crossed her mind)  
  
She don't know she's beautiful  
  
(no she's not that kind)  
  
She don't know she's beautiful  
  
Though time and time I've told her so'  
  
The song came to an end. Sara looked over at Nick with a quizzical expression, "I don't get it?"  
  
Nick chuckled, "That's my point. You're like the girl in the song. You really don't know how amazing and beautiful you are, Sara Sidle."  
  
A look of surprise crossed Sara's face, "You think I'm beautiful?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Song is: "She Don't Know She's Beautiful" by Sammy Kershaw 


	12. A Grand Canyon

Nick smiled at Sara as he glanced over at her, "Yeah, Sara, I think you're beautiful. I can't believe you don't see it. That's why I have such a hard time seeing you sell yourself short. Hank and Grissom were just stupid for not seeing what I see."  
  
Sara felt uncomfortable hearing Nick's words. She turned and rested her head against the window gazing out at the dark desert landscape, "Nick, I'm kind of tired, I'm going to try and get a little sleep, ok."  
  
Nick replied softly, "Ok, Sar." He turned his attention back to the road occasionally glancing at Sara who did her best to pretend to fall asleep.  
  
Three hours later, Nick pulled the Tahoe into another rest area. He turned to Sara, "Hey, Sara. Sara." He reached over and shook her shoulder, "Sara."  
  
Sara's eyes fluttered open, "What?" She hadn't planned on falling asleep, just on escaping from an uncomfortable conversation, but once she had relaxed, she'd fallen asleep against the window.  
  
"We're at a rest stop. Do you need to get out?" Nick queried.  
  
Sara rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and yawned, "Yeah, I guess I should."  
  
Nick grinned at her, "Did you sleep well?"  
  
She nodded, "Yeah, well enough."  
  
The pair exited the Tahoe and headed toward the restrooms. Nick emerged a few minutes later and headed toward the vending machines in search of a snack. He stood there contemplating which was less worse, Doritos or Twinkies.  
  
An amused Sara peered around his shoulder, "It's the preservatives that'll kill you."  
  
Nick raised an eyebrow in amusement, "Well since our culinary options are limited out here in the Arizona desert, I'll just have to take that risk."  
  
Sara chuckled, "We should probably get something to eat before we find the cemetery in Tucson."  
  
Nick grinned, "I like how you think, Ms. Sidle. Smart and beautiful."  
  
Sara averted her eyes from Nick and studied the vending machine.  
  
Nick leaned against the machine and looked at Sara with his arms crossed in front of him, "Sara, why does it make you so uncomfortable for someone to tell you that they think you're beautiful?"  
  
"I'll meet you at the Tahoe." Sara turned and walked away leaving Nick standing there with a puzzled expression on his face. He turned back to the vending machine and got both the Doritos and the Twinkies, as well as a couple of sodas, before heading back to the Tahoe.  
  
Sara stood next to it, looking at the pavement. "You have the keys," she said in a whisper as she heard Nick approach.  
  
Nick set the snacks on the hood of the Tahoe and walked over to Sara, "You know what, Sara? You promised you wouldn't get mad at me."  
  
"I'm not mad." Sara replied not very convincingly.  
  
Nick let out a deep sigh, "You're acting like it."  
  
"Would you just open the Tahoe?" Sara didn't turn around.  
  
Nick rested his hands on his hips and looked at the ground for a moment, "No."  
  
Sara turned around, "What!?"  
  
He looked up and met her glare, "Sara. I just realized something. You don't act this way when Greg pays you a compliment, or when David fawns all over you. What is it about me that makes you so uncomfortable?"  
  
Sara was speechless. She stood there with her mouth slightly agape.  
  
Nick was unmoved. He stood there biding his time until she was ready to answer his question. In the span of a sixteen hour road trip, what was another five, ten, or even thirty minutes?  
  
Sara finally found her voice, "You don't make me uncomfortable."  
  
Nick continued to look directly at her, "I don't believe you."  
  
Sara crossed her arms in front of her body looking everywhere but Nick.  
  
"Sara, you're acting like you're pissed as hell at me. Your body language is telling me you'd like me to go away. You walk away or change the subject if I mention that I think you're beautiful, which for the record, you are. So don't stand there and tell me that I don't make you uncomfortable when I know I do. Just tell me why? We've talked about just about everything under the sun in the last three years of working together, so what gives? We still have to finish driving to Tucson and all the way back to Vegas and I can be patient as hell." Nick exclaimed turning away from her to collect the snacks from the hood and getting into the driver's seat of the Tahoe and unlocked the other doors.  
  
Sara silently opened the door and fastened her seatbelt resting her head against the window after she closed the door. They rode the rest of the way to Tucson in silence. They drove directly to the cemetery and after the body was exhumed and loaded into the Tahoe, they turned back toward Vegas.  
  
A hour into the return trip, Sara turned toward Nick, "Uh, can we stop somewhere, I'm hungry."  
  
Nick glanced at her, and handed her the bag of Doritos and Twinkies he had bought. He hadn't felt much like eating after they had left the rest stop, "Here. We can stop when we see something."  
  
"Thanks." Sara replied, opening the bag of Doritos and pulling out a chip. She let out a deep sigh and looked over at Nick who was looking at the road. "I'm sorry I made you mad."  
  
Nick glanced over at her, "I'm not mad, Sara, just a little confused."  
  
She looked at him quizzically.  
  
He let out a deep breath and continued, "I just don't understand why it scares you that I think you're a beautiful person. If Greg or David said that to you, you would just smile."  
  
She steeled herself and then looked at him, "If I told you, it would ruin everything."  
  
Nick looked hurt, "Why? I thought we could talk about anything, Sara."  
  
She tried to suppress a smile, "We can, that's why it scares the hell out of me, Nick."  
  
Nick glanced over at her with a serious expression, "You know what scares the hell out of me, Sara?"  
  
"What?" She responded curiously.  
  
He took a deep breath and continued, "You do."  
  
"Excuse me?" She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Why do I scare you?"  
  
A smile played at the corners of his mouth as he glanced over at her, "Because I want to ask you out and you'll probably say 'no'."  
  
Sara's jaw dropped in surprise. She just looked over at him in disbelief, "Did you just say you wanted to ask me out?"  
  
Nick was nervous as hell, but he calmly turned his gaze toward her and replied confidently, "Yes."  
  
Sara's eyes narrowed, "Nick, pull over."  
  
"What?" He replied.  
  
"I said, pull over." Sara's voice was more forceful.  
  
Nick pulled the Tahoe off the edge of the road. Sara got out and started walking. Nick rested his forehead against the steering wheel for a moment and then turned off the ignition, got out and followed her, "Sara, wait."  
  
Sara stopped walking. Nick jogged to catch up with her, "You can't walk all the way back to Vegas, Sara. We're in the middle of the desert."  
  
Sara turned around looking extremely flustered, "I wasn't planning on walking all the way back to Vegas. I just needed some air."  
  
Nick raised a quizzical eyebrow at her.  
  
She hugged her arms around herself and looked at Nick, "You want to ask me out, like on a date?"  
  
Nick nodded, "Yeah, I do." He looked at the ground, hands resting on his hips.  
  
The next thing he knew, Sara's hands cupped each side of his face as she pulled his lips down to meet hers. Surprise registered in his mind for a moment and then he began to respond to the kiss. His lips hungrily tasted hers and his hands caressed her face.  
  
As Sara broke the kiss, she looked at him intently, "Why didn't you ask before?"  
  
"I didn't think you'd say yes." He looked into her eyes. "I finally decided to take my own advice."  
  
"I'm glad you did." Sara replied smiling.  
  
Nick's thumb caressed her cheek, "As much as I want to stay here like this, Sara, we have a body we have to get back to Vegas."  
  
Sara chuckled. Nick leaned down and kissed her once more and they headed back to the Tahoe hand in hand. 


	13. Conversation Over Chinese

Catherine reached forward and grabbed another egg roll, "So, that's when you started dating then?"  
  
Sara glanced over at her, taking a sip from her soda, "Sort of."  
  
Warrick raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean, sort of?"  
  
Nick had a sheepish expression on his face, "Well, on the way back to Vegas we both started to panic a little."  
  
Sara chuckled, "You were afraid Grissom would kill you if he found out we were dating."  
  
Nick tried to suppress a grin, "Ok. That's true. But you were afraid of the crap that our friends Catherine and Warrick here were going to give us if they found out we hooked up on a case."  
  
Sara grinned, "Ok, that's also true" She looked over at Catherine and Warrick, "Sorry guys."  
  
Catherine glanced at Warrick and then smiled at Sara, "It's ok. But if you didn't start dating then, when did you?"  
  
"Well, we did go out, but for a while it was only grabbing breakfast after shift and stuff like that." Sara explained.  
  
"You know, nothing that would raise suspicion," Nick added. "I don't think either of us was ready to admit that we wanted a serious relationship."  
  
Sara took another sip of her soda, "It was your parents though that sort of pushed things, although I don't think they realized it at the time."  
  
Nick chuckled at the memory.  
  
Warrick raised an eyebrow, "Are you going to share with the rest of the class?"  
  
"Sorry, War." Sara giggled. "We were over here watching a marathon of James Bond movies one weekend and Nick's parents showed up unannounced."  
  
Catherine chuckled, "Ooh, I would have paid to have been a fly on that wall." She took a sip of her soda and leaned back into the chair.  
  
Nick raised an eyebrow at her and grinned, "Well, I open the front door and there stands my mom and dad. I was a little surprised. Then I realized that Sara was sitting on the couch and I had to introduce her to them."  
  
Sara raised an eyebrow at Nick teasing, "You had to introduce me to them?"  
  
Nick gazed at Sara and in a very gentlemanly voice he answered, "I wanted to introduce you to them." He turned to Catherine and Warrick, "And I introduced her to them as my girlfriend."  
  
Catherine wore a bemused smile, "Had you guys talked about this?"  
  
"No!" Sara laughed, "I think it surprised Nick as much as it surprised me."  
  
Warrick just chuckled.  
  
"So, of course they insisted that they take us out to dinner." Nick continued.  
  
"When exactly was that, Nicky?" Catherine queried.  
  
"About three months after Arizona." He answered.  
  
Sara leaned forward and grinned at Catherine conspiratorially, "He forgot to mention one little detail."  
  
Nick turned to Sara, his face flushing red, "Ok, sweetheart, if you really want them to know."  
  
Warrick chuckled, with an amused expression on his face.  
  
"At dinner, Nick's dad told him he should marry me. Right there in front of me, his mom, and the waitress, who if I recall correctly, you had dated once, Nick." Sara continued with a smile on her face.  
  
A looked of horror and an amused grin crossed Catherine's face, "He didn't."  
  
Warrick just leaned back in his chair and laughed.  
  
Nick just nodded his head feeling embarrassed, "Oh, but he did. My dad's not exactly one for subtlety."  
  
Sara smiled at Nick, "The funny thing though is that it didn't freak us both out. We didn't really talk about it until about a month later, but I think we both started thinking that things were more serious than we had wanted to admit."  
  
Nick leveled his gaze at Warrick, "And then you started trying to set me up with every woman on the planet except Sara."  
  
Warrick flashed an innocent smile, "I thought you needed a woman, who knew you and Sara were getting it on?"  
  
Nick and Sara exchanged a bemused grin. Nick turned back to Warrick, "Actually, we weren't. That's probably why you thought I needed a woman."  
  
Catherine looked confused, "But I thought you said you were dating?"  
  
Sara tried to suppress a grin, "Uh, we were. Uh, not that this is a big secret or anything, but neither one of has had a great track record in relationships."  
  
"So, we didn't want to rush into sleeping together," Nick continued, "In retrospect, we'd been dating four months by the time we started talking about things being serious between us."  
  
Warrick narrowed his gaze at the pair, "So when did the 'M' word come into play?"  
  
Nick chuckled and looked at Sara, "Do you want to tell this, or do you want me to?"  
  
Sara reached over and squeezed his hand smiling, "You can tell it." 


	14. The M Word

Nick squeezed Sara's hand before continuing, "Well the first time we talked about it was a month after my dad brought it up at that dinner. I was waiting for Sara to come over for dinner and my dad called. I was on the phone with him when she came to the door. When he heard that it was her, he asked to talk to her."  
  
Sara decided to interject, "So, Nick hands me the phone and his dad starts asking me if he's treating me right, the way a proper Texas gentleman should. I laughed and told him he was. Then he asked me if Nick had asked me to marry him yet."  
  
Nick sat up on the edge of the couch and a grin spread across his face, "So, I'm watching this conversation and Sara's face turns red and she manages to say 'no'."  
  
Sara chuckled, "I thought I was going to die."  
  
Catherine's eyes were wide, "You have got to be kidding."  
  
Warrick chuckled uncontrollably.  
  
"No, she's not kidding," Nick continued, "So Sara hand's the phone back to me and my dad starts lecturing me about not letting Sara slip through my fingers, and that I'd better propose before some other young buck comes along and marries her."  
  
"Nick looked so uncomfortable." Sara chuckled as she remembered the call.  
  
Nick reached over and put his hand on Sara's knee smiling at her, "I think my dad knew I was in love with you before I did." He turned back to Warrick and Catherine, "Well when I hung up the phone with my dad, that created an awkward silence."  
  
Catherine was engrossed in the conversation, "I can imagine."  
  
Sara grinned, "Yeah, I think we stood there for what felt like an eternity before Nick asked me if I wanted to sit down. Then we both started talking at once. Nick apologized for his dad being so forward, but he kept looking at me in a way he'd never looked at me before."  
  
Nick glanced at the floor for a moment and started chuckling, "I think I realized at that moment that I was in love with Sara."  
  
"Of course after the conversation with Nick's dad, I was afraid Nick was going to propose right there and all I wanted was to get some air." Sara added.  
  
"So we went for a walk and talked about how we felt about each other," Nick continued, "I told her that I was in love with her and that I had never felt the way I felt about her about anyone else. Then she told me that she was in love with me too."  
  
"You also asked me what I thought about marriage." Sara smiled wryly.  
  
Warrick and Catherine exchanged a glance.  
  
Nick chuckled and nodded at Sara, "Yes, I did. And I thought you were going to hyperventilate."  
  
"Until you told me that you weren't asking me to marry you." Sara interjected.  
  
An amused expression crossed Nick's face as he turned toward Sara, "And as I recall, you asked me why not."  
  
Sara giggled and looked over at Catherine and Warrick nodding, "I did."  
  
"Girl," Warrick just shook his head and laughed.  
  
"Nick, I'm dying to know what you said next seeing as how you're sitting here in one piece." Catherine raised an eyebrow at him wondering what he could have managed to say that didn't have disastrous results.  
  
Nick gave her a lopsided grin, "Catherine, she left me speechless."  
  
"Now that's a major accomplishment," Warrick jested.  
  
"Hey, now, bro!" Nick replied.  
  
"See what I mean?" Warrick chuckled.  
  
"Well, after I asked him why he wasn't asking me to marry him, he got this really perplexed look on his face," Sara interjected.  
  
"And I did what any smart man in my shoes would have done." Nick commented with raised eyebrows.  
  
Nick and Sara just grinned at each other.  
  
With a wry smile, Catherine queried, "Are you going to tell us, or is this a big secret?"  
  
Sara tore her gaze away from Nick and looked over at Catherine, "He kissed me."  
  
Catherine smirked, "Nice move, Nicky."  
  
He winked at her, "Sara thought so."  
  
Warrick sat back in his chair and laughed.  
  
"So is that when you asked her?" Catherine queried.  
  
Nick shook his head, "No, I asked her a few weeks later."  
  
Sara looked over at Warrick and Catherine, "He kept trying to get me alone, but if you recall, all of us were pulling double and triple shifts there for a while. So we never seemed to have any time alone and we were always at work."  
  
Catherine raised a curious eyebrow.  
  
Nick chuckled, "Ok, so Grissom had sent us out to help you two with the multiple at the Hyde place, and I decided that I wasn't going to get another chance for a while. So I took a little detour and stopped at a park and asked her to marry me."  
  
"Nick, you didn't just ask me to marry you, you asked me to marry you after shift was over." Sara interjected.  
  
"That explains a lot." Warrick commented grinning.  
  
Catherine cleared her throat, "So all your little 'meetings' in the broom closet were trying to make up for lost time?"  
  
Nick grinned like a Cheshire cat.  
  
Sara put her hand on Nick's thigh and looked over at Catherine, "It's not like we've had time off for a honeymoon."  
  
"Well it's not like anyone knew you two were together until tonight." Warrick commented.  
  
"And we're sorry for that. We should have told everyone from the beginning, well at least as soon as we knew what we were doing." Nick replied.  
  
Catherine's cell phone rang. She took a look at her caller ID and rolled her eyes, "It's Grissom." She answered the phone, "Willows. Yeah. I told you we were taking a vacation day. I know you're short. Ok. Are you going to stop acting like an ass? Uh huh. I think you owe them an apology. Yes, I do. No. Yes. Ok, then. I'll talk to you about it later. Ok, no he's with me. Uh, no. Nick and Sara. Ok. Fine. Meet you there." She ended the call and looked over at Warrick, "Looks like Grissom can't survive without us."  
  
Warrick chuckled.  
  
Catherine looked over at Nick and Sara, "Let me know if he doesn't apologize. We need to go, we've got a double homicide. Besides, I think you newlyweds could use a little time alone." She gave them a knowing wink and stood up.  
  
Nick and Sara walked them to the door. After the door was closed, Nick looked over at Sara and gave her a devilish grin, "I think you promised me a rain check for something earlier."  
  
Sara grinned, "Oh, really, and what would that be, Mr. Stokes?" 


	15. Raincheck

Nick leaned against the closed door, arms crossed in front of him and waggled his eyebrows at Sara who stood just a few feet away, "It seems to me, Mrs. Stokes, that you gave me a rain check earlier."  
  
Sara tried to stifle a giggle and replied with mock seriousness "And you want to cash it in so soon?"  
  
Sara let out a yelp as Nick grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into his embrace, peppering kisses up her neck. Nick's arms tightened around Sara's waist as she melted into his embrace, leaning her head back to give Nick better access to her neck. She slid her arms up his chest and snaked them around his neck, her fingertips running through his hair. Nick started walking Sara backwards toward the couch. Sara murmured, "Nicky, wrong way."  
  
Nick chuckled into her neck, "I like the couch." He pulled her down into his lap sideways as he sat on the couch, continuing to kiss her neck.  
  
After a few minutes, Sara slid her hands from his neck to cup both side of his face, pulling his lips away from her neck. She gazed into his eyes before pulling him in for a deep sensuous kiss. They tasted each others lips slowly and thoroughly. Their sense of time slipping away. Sara's hands slid down and splayed against his chest. Nick's hands played at the bottom of her shirt and slid beneath it, slowly caressing the bare skin it covered as he deepened the kiss by parting his lips and inviting Sara's tongue to dance with his. They slowly tasted and explored each other's mouths. Sara began unbuttoning Nick's shirt, her fingers caressing the exposed flesh as she went. Nick whimpered in protest as Sara's lips left his. She stood up for a moment and then sat back down on his lap facing him, her legs straddling his.  
  
Nick's cell phone rang.  
  
Sara reached down and pulled the phone off his belt and tossed it on the coffee table. She smiled at him, "We got sent home, remember." Nick chuckled and grinned at her.  
  
Nick's hands gripped her waist, sliding down to cup her butt through her jeans. Sara began planting kisses on his neck and shoulders as she tried to slide his shirt off. Nick released his hold on her and let the shirt fall behind him on the couch.  
  
Sara's cell phone rang. Nick grabbed Sara's cell phone from it's holster and tossed it over to join his. "We are not answering those tonight," he growled.  
  
Sara's fingers splayed over his bare chest as she continued to assault his neck and shoulders with her lips. Nick's hands again gripped Sara's waist before sliding up under her shirt. He released the clasp on the back of her bra and slid his hands around to the front of her body until he could graze her breasts with his thumbs. Sara moaned and arched her back as Nick continued to caress and tease her breasts. He began to nuzzle them through the fabric of her shirt. Sara gripped his shoulders with her hands and pressed herself into his lap as she felt his arousal growing. Nick moaned. She pressed herself harder against him, gripping his hips with her thighs. She reached down between them and unfastened the top button of his jeans. Nick's hands slid down and pulled at the bottom of Sara's shirt, sliding it up and over her head, her bra going with it. He tossed them in no particular direction.  
  
Nick's hands returned to Sara's back, sliding down to cup her buttocks as he picked her up and stood up from the couch. Sara wrapped her arms around Nick's neck and pulled herself against him reveling in the feeling of their bare flesh pressed together. Nick lowered Sara to the couch, covering her body with his. Sara pulled Nick's face down for a deep kiss, Nick's hand grazed her stomach as his hand moved between them to unfasten the button and lower the zipper on her jeans. As he caressed her stomach and began to slide his hand into the front of her jeans, an insistent knock sounded at the door.  
  
Sara mumbled against his lips, "Don't get it," enjoying the sensations that Nick's touch was causing throughout her body. She deepened their kiss, moaning as Nick slid his hand further down into her jeans.  
  
The knock was louder and more insistent.  
  
Nick broke their kiss, resting his forehead against hers, "The sooner I get rid of whoever it is, the sooner we can continue this." He dipped his head and kissed her once more before regretfully lifting himself off of her and walking over to the front door.  
  
Sara groaned at the lost contact, and lay back on the couch, arms crossed over her breasts.  
  
Nick opened the door and before he could say anything, Grissom brushed past him saying, "I need to talk to you and Sara."  
  
Grissom stopped in his tracks as he rounded the corner into the living room where a half naked Sara was trying to cover herself up with Nick's discarded shirt. He averted his gaze and turned around where an agitated Nick stood arms crossed over his bare chest, top button of his jeans undone. He could hear Sara zipping up her pants and pulling Nick's shirt around herself as she got off the couch. He glanced at the ground and noticed a woman's shirt and a lacy bra just inches from his foot. Grissom held his breath and closed his eyes at the verbal assault he expected to descend on him for breaking up an obviously intimate moment.  
  
Sara was so furious, she couldn't speak. Nick glared at Grissom, his voice sounding too controlled, "This had better be good, Grissom. You sent us home, remember."  
  
Grissom met Nick's glare and turned toward Sara who was fuming, "I came to apologize for earlier."  
  
Sara raised an eyebrow at him with a look of disbelief on her face. She glanced at Nick. Grissom followed Sara's glance and looked back at Nick, who had a slightly amused look on his face.  
  
Nick raised an eyebrow at him and gestured toward the door, "We'll come in before shift starts, you can apologize then. Right now, I want to finish making love to my wife."  
  
Grissom was speechless as he moved toward the door. Nick closed it behind him and turned to face Sara who let out a low chuckle, "You handled that well, Mr. Stokes."  
  
Nick raised his eyebrow at her seductively and stepped toward her, "I thought he was going to die when he rounded the corner and saw you laying there half naked."  
  
Sara fingered Nick's shirt moving toward him, "Well, he didn't really get an eyeful, thanks to your shirt."  
  
Nick grinned and he took her into his embrace, "That's good, otherwise I would have had to punch him."  
  
Sara raised a seductive eyebrow at him, "Can we forget about Grissom and get back to where we were? Preferably in the bedroom."  
  
Nick pulled her in for a deep kiss as they stumbled toward the bedroom, leaving a trail of clothing in their wake. 


	16. Shell Shocked

Grissom climbed behind the wheel of his Tahoe feeling shell shocked at what he had just walked into. An attempt to make right an awkward situation had only been made worse by his blunder. He let out a deep sigh and backed out of the driveway, heading toward the crime scene that he had sent Warrick and Catherine to. As he got out of his Tahoe, he ran into Brass. The homicide detective looked at him quizzically, "Gil, I thought you were on another case."  
  
Grissom glanced at Brass, "I passed it off to Ecklie's crew; I'm short handed tonight."  
  
Brass raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, Catherine told me about Nick and Sara. Did you give them the night off or something?"  
  
Grissom deadpanned, "Or something. Hey, where is Catherine?"  
  
Brass gestured toward the house, "Inside."  
  
"Thanks," Grissom replied, heading into the house in search of Catherine. He came upon her in the kitchen where she and Warrick had been processing the scene of an ugly double homicide.  
  
Warrick looked up, "Hey, Gris."  
  
Catherine turned and looked at Grissom, "Gil, you feeling ok? You look like hell."  
  
"Catherine, can I talk to you?" Grissom gestured toward the living room.  
  
She glanced at Warrick for a moment before turning back to Grissom, "Sure." She wordlessly followed him into the living room. "What's up?"  
  
He turned to face her, "You're good with people. I'm not."  
  
She looked at him quizzically, "What's your point?"  
  
He took a deep breath, "I tried to call Nick and Sara on their cell phones, but neither of them answered."  
  
Her expression changed to one of disbelief, "Gil, you sent them home. You told them not to come back in until next shift. Why did you call them?"  
  
He looked sheepish, "I wanted to apologize."  
  
She gave him a wry grin, "I'm glad you decided to take my advice."  
  
He let out a frustrated sigh, "Unfortunately, it blew up in my face."  
  
Her eyebrows shot up, "Did you go over there?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
She let out an audible groan, "What did you do?"  
  
"I made things worse." He stated.  
  
She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow, "How?"  
  
He tried to tiptoe around the issue, "I interrupted them."  
  
Catherine tried to suppress a chuckle, "You interrupted them. And what exactly did you interrupt?"  
  
Warrick could hear everything from the other room and it took all of his self control to not dissolve into laughter.  
  
Grissom cleared his throat, "I, uh."  
  
Catherine crossed her arms in front of herself, "Spill it."  
  
Grissom looked mortified, "I believe it was foreplay."  
  
Catherine wore a bemused grin, "And what makes you so sure?"  
  
Grissom arched his brow at Catherine, "Sara's lack of clothes for one."  
  
Catherine's face registered surprise, "And just how did you happen to see Sara without her clothes on?"  
  
Grissom had an embarrassed expression on his face, "When Nick answered the door, I walked past him into the living room before I realized that Sara was in there and wasn't dressed appropriately for company."  
  
Catherine arched her eyebrows, "Maybe the company wasn't appropriate for the situation. Maybe you should think about that the next time you show up unannounced at the home of newlyweds. You're lucky Nick didn't punch you for walking in on Sara like that and you're lucky she didn't kill you for seeing her completely naked."  
  
Grissom cleared his throat, "She wasn't completely naked. She had her jeans on, well sort of. Anyway, she grabbed a shirt before I saw anything." He looked at Catherine with a pleading expression, "All I wanted to do was apologize."  
  
"And now you've made things ten times worse." Catherine observed with a penetrating gaze.  
  
Grissom nodded.  
  
"I'm not fixing this for you. I know you're not good with people, but you have to fix this one yourself. I suggest you think very hard about what you're going to say before you say it. I'd also like to recommend you don't go over there again unless you're invited." She narrowed her gaze at him, "They're newlyweds, Gil. Somehow they managed to not sleep together before they eloped, so assume that if they're at home, they're probably trying to have sex." She raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
Grissom looked embarrassed, "Yeah."  
  
Her expression softened slightly, "Is that all, or did you come to help Warrick and I?"  
  
Grissom raised his eyebrows, "If you need me?"  
  
She flashed him a suggestive grin, "Always."- 


	17. Talking to Grissom

Nick woke to the sensation of soft warm lips pressing into his and Sara's hair tickling his face. His arms snaked around her, crushing her body against his, deepening the kiss. When they finally broke the kiss, Nick gazed into Sara's eyes as she looked down at him, "Hey, gorgeous." Sara smiled back at him, "Hey, sexy."  
  
Nick reached up and caressed her cheek with his fingers, letting them slide back to tangle into her hair, cupping the back of her head and pulling her down for another deep kiss. The fingers of his other hand traced an imaginary line from her shoulder to her hip. Sara's hands rested on either side of Nick on the mattress and she allowed herself to straddle him as the kiss intensified; their tongues in a furious dance. The need for air drove them apart.  
  
Sara sat up on Nick's thighs, resting the palms of her hands on his chest as she gazed down at her husband and said in a husky voice, "I can't believe I get to be with you forever, Nick."  
  
Nick grinned back at her, devouring the sight of her. In a low voice he said, "Forever's gonna be too short, Sara. I love you so much." His fingers caressed her thighs.  
  
"I love you too, Nick." Sara slid her hands up Nick's chest and leaned back down to kiss him again. Nick gripped her hips and rolled her over onto her back; the weight of him pushing her into the mattress as they continued to express their love to each other.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It was an hour before shift began and Grissom sat at his desk drinking a cup of coffee when Nick and Sara appeared in his doorway. He looked up, "Nick. Sara. Come in."  
  
Nick closed the door behind them and joined Sara who had already sat down in one of the chairs facing Grissom's desk. They looked at Grissom expectantly.  
  
Grissom looked directly at the couple and let out a deep breath before he began to speak. "I'm going to cut to the chase. I owe you both an apology. I had no business coming into your home last night uninvited."  
  
Nick nodded at Grissom, "Thank you, Gris. I think you really owe Sara an apology though." Nick looked over at Sara and smiled at her as he took her hand.  
  
"I know, Nick." Grissom replied. He looked at Sara with a tentative expression on his face, "Sara, I'm not sure what I can say. I put you in an awkward position, and I am deeply regretful for my actions. If I could change it, I would."  
  
Sara looked over at Nick and smiled at him, squeezing his hand. She turned to Grissom with an intense expression, "Grissom, you can't change it. It happened. It was awkward. It ever happens again though, Catherine and Warrick will have a crime scene to investigate, and I'm sure Nick knows how to hide evidence."  
  
Grissom looked somewhat dumbfounded.  
  
Sara tried to restrain a chuckle. Nick couldn't contain one. He looked over at Grissom, "Gris, the look on your face last night was too priceless. It was awkward, but we can't change it. We're fine."  
  
Grissom took his glasses off and rubbed his temples before looking back at Nick and Sara, "I also need to talk to you about why I stopped by last night."  
  
Nick and Sara glanced at each other and then over at him, squeezing each other's hands.  
  
"I shouldn't have sent you home. I overreacted." Grissom raised an eyebrow before continuing, "However, I need to make it clear that your personal relationship cannot in any way compromise your professionalism or I can't allow you to work together."  
  
"We know that, Grissom." Sara replied with a serious expression.  
  
Nick nodded.  
  
A half smile played across Grissom's lips, "I know."  
  
They concluded the meeting and Nick and Sara made their way to the break room in search of coffee. Warrick and Catherine were seated at the table and looked up as the pair entered the room. Catherine raised an eyebrow as they entered, "We heard about what Grissom did."  
  
Nick stopped in his tracks. Sara blushed and cleared her throat.  
  
Catherine continued, "Did he apologize?"  
  
Nick nodded, "Yeah, he did."  
  
Sara finally turned to look at Catherine, "Does everyone know?"  
  
Warrick chuckled, "No, just the two of us. I'm surprised you didn't kick his ass, girl."  
  
Sara smiled wickedly, "He's lucky I was too busy trying to find something to put on, or I would have kicked his ass."  
  
Catherine took a sip of her coffee, "Nick, I would have thought you would have taken a swing at him or something."  
  
Nick waggled his eyebrows at Catherine, "I thought I'd save my energy for other activities."  
  
Sara leaned up and kissed Nick's cheek, whispering in his ear, "I'm glad you did."  
  
Nick chuckled and grinned.  
  
Catherine and Warrick exchanged a glance.  
  
Warrick narrowed his eyes at Nick, "Hey, man. We have something we need to talk to you about."  
  
Nick looked over at Warrick and Catherine curiously, "What's that?"  
  
Catherine looked at him with a wry grin, "You know, Nicky, its customary when you get married to take your bride on a honeymoon."  
  
Sara crossed her arms in front of herself and leaned back against the counter grinning with interest.  
  
Nick had a sheepish expression on his face, "I know."  
  
"So when are you going to ask Grissom for some time off?" Warrick inquired trying to suppress a smirk.  
  
"He doesn't need to ask." Grissom interjected as he entered the room, "They're off the schedule for the next two weeks. I've borrowed a couple of people from Ecklie's crew."  
  
Nick and Sara exchanged a surprised glance.  
  
Grissom walked up to Nick and Sara and handed them an envelope, "This is from all of us. Congratulations."  
  
Catherine and Warrick sat their grinning as Nick opened the envelope and then handed it to Sara looking perplexed.  
  
She looked at the rest of the team with a confused expression on her face, "These are keys."  
  
"Very good, Sara." Grissom replied with a smile taking a sip from his coffee.  
  
"What are they for?" She continued.  
  
Warrick chuckled, "A cabin on Lake Mead."  
  
"Whose cabin?" Nick queried.  
  
"My sister's." Catherine answered with a grin, "It's yours for the next two weeks. There's a map in the envelope."  
  
"We'd send you to Hawaii, but you know what we make working here." Warrick grinned standing up to hug Sara and pat Nick on the back.  
  
"Thank you." Nick stuttered, "I don't know what to say."  
  
"Yeah," Sara added looking at Nick with a grin.  
  
"We thought you two needed a honeymoon. The broom closet isn't exactly romantic." Catherine hugged Sara and Nick.  
  
Grissom chuckled, "Go home and pack. You're officially off the schedule and on vacation for the next two weeks." 


	18. Another Secret Revealed

Nick and Sara arrived hand in hand at the lab. The last two weeks had been utter bliss. They had thoroughly enjoyed the cabin on Lake Mead that Catherine's sister had let them use. Months of sneaking around to see each other and a month of a marriage that no one knew about had taken its toll. They hardly left the cabin the first week, instead they had spent it touching, caressing, and memorizing every curve and feature of each other's bodies. The second week they had gone on a couple of hikes and had take a canoe out into the lake. Now it was time to head back to the real world.  
  
It was a good hour before shift began as they walked into the lab. The door to Grissom's office was closed as they passed it. They headed to the locker room to stow their gear. As he closed his locker, Nick leaned over and kiss Sara before taking her hand and heading toward the break room.  
  
Greg had just brewed a fresh pot of coffee and he looked up as the couple entered the room, "Hey, it's the newlyweds!" He waggled his eyebrows, "Have a good honeymoon?"  
  
Nick grinned, "Hey, Greg."  
  
"Hi, Greggo." Sara added with a content smile on her face as she walked over and gave the lab tech a hug.  
  
Nick poured a cup of coffee and handed it to Sara as she stepped away from Greg. He poured himself one and then joined her on the couch. He put his arm around her shoulder and she leaned back into him as she took a sip of her coffee. Nick looked over at Greg who perched on the arm of the couch across from where he and Sara sat, "So, did we miss much while we were gone?"  
  
Greg looked excited to have someone to share information with, "Well, Grissom and Catherine have been fighting like cats and dogs since you left."  
  
Sara chuckled, "Greg, that's nothing new."  
  
Greg arched his eyebrows, "Yes, but it's been a little more intense lately." He gave them a conspiratorial grin.  
  
Nick chuckled, "If you say so."  
  
Warrick sauntered in and a smile spread across his face as he noticed the couple, "Nick, Sara, welcome back."  
  
Sara stood up and walked over to Warrick to give him a hug, "Hey, War!"  
  
As Warrick hugged her in return he whispered loudly, "Has he been treating you right, girl?"  
  
Sara giggled and blushed as she stepped back.  
  
Warrick chuckled, "I'll take that as a yes."  
  
Nick grinned and batted his eyelashes in jest, "Where's my hug, War?"  
  
Warrick raised an eyebrow, "No offense, Nick, but there's a reason why people kiss the bride, not the groom."  
  
Sara chuckled and commented as she looked over at Nick with a suggestive grin, "Oh, I don't know. I've thoroughly enjoyed kissing the groom."  
  
Nick waggled his eyebrows at her and grinned as she rejoined him on the couch placing her hand on his knee. Nick leaned over and kissed her briefly, "I love you, Mrs. Stokes."  
  
Sara grinned, "I love you too, Mr. Stokes."  
  
Warrick poured himself a cup of coffee and sat on the couch opposite Nick and Sara, "Boy, I'm glad you two are back. Grissom and Catherine have been at each other's throats."  
  
Nick and Sara exchanged a surprised glance.  
  
Greg cleared his throat, "That's what I was trying to tell them."  
  
"Sorry, Greg." Nick offered. He looked over at Warrick, "More so than usual?"  
  
Warrick nodded, "Almost like fight night."  
  
"Any reason in particular?" Sara queried.  
  
Warrick shook his head, "None that I can figure out. Catherine's been pretty tight lipped."  
  
Nick cleared his throat as he saw Catherine rounding the corner into the break room with Grissom on her heals.  
  
Warrick stopped talking.  
  
Sara glanced at Nick with an eyebrow raised. He tried to suppress a smile. Warrick noticed the exchange and casually glanced back at Catherine. He turned toward Nick and Sara with a bemused expression. Greg's face was a myriad of expressions as he tried to read the trio's faces before looking over at Grissom and Catherine. Greg's face broke into a full blown grin.  
  
Grissom and Catherine who had bickered almost nonstop since Nick and Sara left, were smiling. The normally impeccably dressed Catherine looked askew. Her hair, although smoothed out, had a few pieces out of place. Her blouse had been buttoned up one button off the mark. But the most telltale sign that sometime was different was Grissom. His shirt poked through his fly where it had caught in his zipper and his lips were smudged with the same color lipstick that Catherine wore.  
  
The four on the couches couldn't contain their amusement any longer.  
  
Warrick cleared his throat, getting the attention of Grissom and Catherine.  
  
Sara with an amused grin on her face gestured toward the pair, "Your subtly needs some work."  
  
Nick and Greg tried to stifle their laughter as Grissom and Catherine opened their mouths to protest but then caught a glance of each other and began to chuckle.  
  
Nick looked over at Sara and commented with a smug smile, "Looks like we're not the only ones who had a secret."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The End  
  
A/N: Thanks for all those who reviewed. I appreciate it. Sorry, the story had to end while it was strong. I'll try and write another story soon. Keep the review coming. 


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